Nosocomial Infection Paper

After microorganisms enter the patient’s body they can go to the lungs and cause pneumonia. Central line-bloodstream infections occur when microorganism enter the bloodstream by the intravenous line. Microorganisms are transfer into the blood stream by inadequate hand hygiene or improper intravenous fluid, tubing, and site care practice. Multidrug-resistant organisms can cause infections of the blood, skin, or organ systems. These infections can arise due to the overuse or misuse of antibiotics, which can result in the microorganisms becoming more resistant to antibiotic therapy. Methicillin-resistant Staphyloccocus aureus and Clostridium difficile are examples of this kind of infection. Health care employees need to know the different types of hospital acquired infections and how they are spread to be able to effectively prevent them.

This article does not provide the search strategy including a number of databases and other resources which identify key published and unpublished research. In this article, both the primary sources and the theoretical literatures are collected and appraised in order to generate the research question and to conduct knowledge-based research. In the section of the literature review, nineteen professional articles are appraised in order to provide the significance and background of the study. Saint develops the research question based on these analyses. “Catheter-associated urinary tract infections in surgical patients: A controlled study on the excess morbidity and costs” is one of the primary sources written by Givens and Wenzel who conduct and analyze this study. In addition, “Clinical and economic consequences of nosocomial catheter-related bacteriuria” is a review of a literature article which is the secondary source. Although many studies state that patient safety is a top priority and CAUTI can be controlled by the caution of health care providers, the infection rate is relatively high among other nosocomial infections. One of the reasons Saint and colleagues uncovered is unawareness and negligence by health care

The occurrence and undesirable complications from hospital acquired infections (HAIs) have been well recognized for the last several decades. The occurrence of HAIs continues to escalate at an alarming rate. HAIs originally referred to those infections associated with admission in an acute-care hospital (formerly called a nosocomial infection). These unanticipated infections develop during the course of health care treatment and result in significant patient illnesses and deaths (morbidity and mortality); prolong the duration of hospital stays; and necessitate additional diagnostic and therapeutic

Widespread use of antibiotics has been very controversial in the media as well in the general population. Due to these controversies, it is very misunderstood to how antibiotics work leading to many patients in the hospital setting wanting to take them when it is not necessary or refusing to take when it is necessary for their survival. Some of this controversy is due to antibiotic resistance, which has spread an alarming rate in the 21st century (Walsh, 2000). Antibiotic resistance is the result of very strong bacteria or microbes that are resistant to the antibiotic prescribed and those microbes accumulate overtime by their survival, reproduction and transfer, leading to increased levels of antibiotic resistance.

Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) affect patients in a hospital, GP clinic, nursing home, patient’s in home after discharge or any other healthcare facility (NHMRC, 2010). These infection are not usually present at the time of hospital admission (WHO, 2009). Healthcare associated infections or nosocomial infections such as UTI, pneumonia, gastroenteritis among them healthcare associated pneumonia (HCAP) is one of the most common, significant and controllable issues today specially in immunocompromised patients. The impact of this infection includes increased risks of patient morbidity and mortality, extended hospital stay, additional suffering, decrease quality of life and also extra cost to treat the infection which burden both for patient

Healthcare is an ever-growing, booming industry and as medical technology advances so should our standards of care. Once known as hospital acquired “nosocomial” infections, Healthcare Associated Infections (HAIs) are still afflicting the very patients we are to be treating. These patients could be our loved ones, friends, and family so to say that, “1 in 25 hospital patients have at least one HAI in a U.S. acute care hospital” (CDC, 2015), is still one too many.

Checking in to the hospital comes with a heavy price tag, and sometimes you get more than what you bargained for. As highly trained doctors, nurses, and staff make their way through the hospital, they carry with them microbial agents of disease. Although regarded as centers for treatment and prevention, hospitals are also known to harbor nosocomial, healthcare-associated, bacterial infections. These infections can be a result of overused or inappropriately used antibiotics and the breaching of infection containment policies by patients and staff. Though health-care-associated infections have been decreasing, one infection inciting nosocomial bacterial, Clostridium difficile has been rampant. It is important that inefficiencies in health-care be met with stringent efforts for prevention as they may lead to distressing financial, emotional, and medical repercussions.

Hospital-acquired infections (HAIs), specifically those involving multi-drug resistant organisms such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) are associated with increased morbidity and mortality, as well as higher cost of healthcare and longer length of hospital stays for patients. Each year, millions of people acquire infections while receiving care, treatment, and services in hospitals and other health care organizations.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] (2017), “Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are the fourth most common type of healthcare-associated infection, with an estimated 93,300 UTIs in acute care hospitals in 2011. UTIs additionally account for more than 12% of infections reported by acute care hospitals. Virtually all healthcare-associated UTIs are caused by instrumentation of the urinary tract” (p. 7-1).

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are the most common nosocomial infection; accounting for up to 40% of infections reported by acute care hospitals. Up to 80% of UTIs are associated with the presence of an indwelling urinary catheter. Catheter associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) represent the largest proportion of healthcare associated infections (HAI). Catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI) increases hospital cost and is associated with increased morbidity and mortality .CAUTIs are considered by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to represent a reasonably preventable complication of hospitalization. As such, no additional payment is provided to hospitals for CAUTI treatment-related costs.CAUTIs can lead to

These microorganisms are transmitted from poor hand hygiene from health care workers to patients as well as touching of contaminated equipment and environmental surfaces. Microorganisms are most commonly introduced to susceptible sites such as open wounds or other portals of entry by contaminated hands. Infection leads to adverse clinical outcomes and can directly threat patient recovery.

Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are infections patients can acquire in a healthcare facility while being given medical care. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) website notes six major sites of infection that patients are at risk of acquiring while receiving care in acute care hospitals in the United States: pneumonia, gastrointestinal illness, urinary tract infections, primary bloodstream infections, surgical site infections from any inpatient surgery, and other types of infections. Their website recounts that as early as 1847 evidence is documented of persons acquiring infections while receiving care in a hospital. The website for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service’s Agency for Healthcare Research

Peripherally inserted central catheters (PICCs) can be used for routine patient care for treatment and have been increasingly used over the past years. They are more invasive than a peripheral intravenous line (PIV); however, they can be inserted at the bedside, are easily removed, and provide many positive benefits. PICCs relieve patients from frequent venipuncture for serial lab draws, decreases frequent re-starts of PIVs, and the patient can be discharged home, if needed, for continued IV therapy. Although there are benefits to these easily inserted central lines, central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI) are a possibility (Dumont & Nessselrodt, 2012).

Upper respiratory tract infections (URTI), including acute otitis media (AOM) are the most common cause of ambulatory physician visits and antimicrobial prescriptions in children1,2. The most common bacterial causes of URTI are Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae, though the majority of cases are caused by viral pathogens 3–10. Distinguishing between viral and bacterial URTI can be difficult. Reports on quality of antimicrobial prescriptions have shown a 30-50% of all out-patient prescriptions due to (upper) respiratory tract infections to be inappropriate2,10,11. In Europe the quality of prescription is higher in the north of the continent, including Iceland compared to in the south12. Conversely, many factors contribute to the overuse of antimicrobials2,13–15, which in turn results to increase in antimicrobial resistance16,17. Contributing factors cited by by physicians to cause over-prescription include uncertainty of diagnosis, fear of disease complications, lack of perception of harmful effects of antimicrobials, not perceiving their own prescription practices to be a problem, pressure by patients, limited time, fear of damaging doctor-patient relationship in addition to language, cultural and educational barriers2,13–15. Antimicrobials were long a mainstay treatment against AOM in fear of rare, but dangerous complications, which have later been found to be unfounded, asnd

Microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites can be transmitted to patients via poor quality cross infection control measures e.g. inadequate cleaning, disinfecting and sterilising of instruments, equipments and surfaces around the hospital